Peter Quill and team returned to the big screen wearing their hearts on their sleeves, so here’s our no spoilers review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. This should give you everything you need to know about whether or not you should see it on the big screen without spoiling anything that hasn’t already been seen in the trailers.
It’s been a roller coaster for Peter Quill and team over the last ten years and the third film takes that concept and runs with it like it’s a twelve year old kid in 1994 booting up Theme Park for the first time. In all fairness, all of the references will be strictly eighties from this point on in the review, but the comparison was just too good to ignore.
AdvertisementWe pick things up with the unlikely band of heroes after the events of the Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special. Ayesha, High Evolutionary and their golden harbinger of doom creation Adam warlock are on the warpath and Starlord, Drax, alt-Gamora, Rocket, Mantis, Cosmo, Kraglin and Groot have got to get over their respective woes in time to save the day.
Apart from the epic special effects and technicolor set pieces, the best thing about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is it’s focus on the characters and their story. Who they are, where they’ve come from and what they’ve lost along the way takes center stage and it makes for a far better film than the likes of Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania as a result.
There are still plenty of gags and silly antics, but that never takes anything away from the heart of the film, which is ultimately about the trials and tribulations of life. It’s a sci-fi exposition of family life through a found family setup and there’s more than enough to take from this to make the third film the best to-date.
It gives everything layers and stakes, and when you combine that with a set of characters that have become much-loved over the years, you have a model that Marvel really needs to tap into a bit more going forward. There has to be more to things than just fighting the bad guys and setting up a few jokes.
AdvertisementGuardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is the longest film in the series at 2 hours and 30 minutes, so pacing was always going to be a challenge. It doesn’t get this entirely right and we could easily shave off a little here and there to tighten things up, but overall it comes together well to close out James Gunn’s tenure with the series.
It’s a good sign for his new job heading up DC Studios and we’re now looking forward to the prospect of Superman Legacy, which will be his first DC Universe film. It probably won’t be as pithy as GotG has been in parts, but hopefully it has a similar focus on the characters, emotions and relationships that we’ve seen in the latest movie in the series.
The cast continue to embody their roles to perfection and they have strong chemistry on the big screen with a stand-out performance from Bradley Cooper as Rocket. Bringing genuine humanity to an anthropomorphic racoon can’t be easy, but in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 he’s elevated the part to the next level.
It’s a similar story from most of the other characters as they struggle to find their way throughout the wild action. It’s all underpinned by the gravitas that Chukwudi Iwuji has brought to the part of High Evolutionary.
AdvertisementLike a number of real earth examples, his motives and rationale don’t make any sense whatsoever to anyone else but him and he showcases that fractured righteousness and entitlement with aplomb. He’s helped by both Elizabeth Debicki and Will Poulter as High Priestess Ayisha and Adam Warlock to give the Guardians more than enough to deal with.
RELATED: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 UK DVD, Blu-ray and digital release date latest
Overall, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is well worth seeing on the big screen and it salvages things for Marvel somewhat in the face of a number of duff films. Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania, Thor Love and Thunder and Eternals may well have fallen a little flat, but with Black Panther Wakanda Forever and GotG V3 there’s still a little hope for films like The Marvels and Avengers The Kang Dynasty.
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Home Media Review
If you’re an MCU, Guardians of the Galaxy or superhero films fan then you should probably try to catch it on the big screen to get the full experience. However, we’re also expecting it to be one to re-watch a few times in the coming years as we start to see how the Guardians will weave their way into other stories.
AdvertisementAs this is a no spoilers review, we’re not planning on delving into things in any detail, but we’re definitely hoping for more from the team in some shape of form. As such, this will be an important part of the overall story and definitely a contender for the library on DVD, Blu-ray or digital.
RELATED: When will Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 come out on Disney Plus?
Being a Marvel film, it will eventually go to come out on Disney Plus, and we’re expecting it to be a very popular stream when it arrives later in 2023. You can check out the link above to find out more about when it”s likely to come out, but all of that aside, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is one that will get a good amount of re-watch time.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 no spoiler review: 4.2/5
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